Chronos - The Forgotten Weapon
by LoneHunter95
Summary: When the Straw Hat Pirates discover records of a fourth, lost ancient weapon inscribed on the Rio Poneglyph, the instructions for it's creation are given to their captain in the hope that he may escape their coming demise with it. Its name was 'Chronos', named after the god of time, the field in which it acted. With Luffy sent back in time, how will it change the future? -Harem-
1. Prologue - The Four Weapons

**Well hello there everybody.**

**I'm coming to you today to bring you a time-travelling One Piece adventure. I've read a fair few One Piece fics and quite frequently came across the ideas of devil fruits and Franky building a time machine but they didn't seem quite believable to me a lot of the time. I mean, you think about what else a Time-Time Fruit could do and it would clearly be a highly sought after devil fruit if it was known about. And if it wasn't known... how the hell do you find out about its abilities by accident? Whilst it does have some credence, their are flaws in the theory and it was quite common so I didn't want to use it so I moved on to the next theory. A time machine... Now, I fucking love time machines! I'm just gonna' say it now. Whether it's in a game, a movie or a book, it can produce some of the most interesting plots if used correctly. But, back to the way most people do it; Franky building one... Well, it's certainly possible but could he really invent one whilst aboard a ship and with such little physics knowledge? Also, he is a weapons and vehicle manufacturer so it isn't really his field. But again, it has its merits and I like the idea. So, I thought to myself _'How can I bring a time machine into the story in a potentially even more plausible manner?'_ And then it struck me... the ancient weapons. Each one is named after a god and supposedly has the power to destroy the world. Well I'd say that time-travel is just as capable of destroying the world as being able to talk to a load of super-giant fish so why not have another ancient weapon that is a time machine. Take a quick looksie at the religions the other names were taken from and look around in them for a god of time. Bob's your uncle and Fanny's your aunt, you've got the name. Given the supposed power of the ancient weapons, one could assume that they were capable of great technological feats when pushed so a time machine isn't necessarily beyond their capabilities. ':)_ I've got myself some decent reasoning!'_ So, all that's left is a plan for the majority of the story and get on with the writing.**

**I do like a good harem fic so I will be giving Luffy a pretty large harem. That doesn't mean every girl he meets will fall for him or that there won't be other pairings. I know of at least one other pairing I will include and some characters will not be available for the harem whilst others will be put to the vote.**

**Other than that, I don't want to give a lot away here so ask me any questions you have and I might answer them but he will start the process of gaining his future abilities next chapter if you are interested in them.**

**This here is my prologue and hopefully it will tantalise you into taking a gander at the rest of the story when I start publishing it soon enough.**

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><p><span><strong>Prologue<strong>

**The Four Weapons**

In days long past, a great kingdom once stood. This kingdom was large, strong, wealthy and rife with great technological feats. But that kingdom soon came to face an enemy it could not hope to conquer; itself. Civil war broke out amongst the populace and the rebels called themselves 'The World Government' as they sought to overthrow their leaders. The leaders of the kingdom, though reluctant to attack their subjects, saw defence as their only option. They called in their greatest technological and architectural minds of all sorts in the hopes that they could devise weapons capable of ending the war in one fell swoop. And so, four great weapons were born into the world, named after the gods that ruled their field of effect and recorded on the stones that kept the kingdom's history.

Pluton; a ship born in the fires of the forge. Cast from metal and armed with weapons more powerful than any had seen; cannons with enormous explosive force and streams of light that could tear through ships with ease. Fearing its destructive power, the leaders had it sealed away, praying that nobody would ever find and activate it.

Poseidon; a biological weapon of varying power. Biologists decided to take an unprecedented approach to the problem of producing a weapon and altered the DNA of a new-born mermaid so that their ability to communicate with fish evolved into the ability to communicate with Sea Kings as well. But, the Sea Kings were few where their battles were fought and so the weapon was of little use. This was proven only further when the first Poseidon died and the ability did not re-emerge until the war was lost, a few generations later.

Uranus; a great metal structure that would be launched into the heavens. From there, it could rain judgement down upon their enemies, obliterating everything in the area. Alas, this project was never completed; instead, it was destroyed halfway to completion in a rebel attack. With the original ruined and the kingdom overtaken before a replacement could be built, the weapon was lost to the historical scripts.

Chronos; both the strongest and weakest of the four weapons. Though incapable of direct damage to enemy forces, it was able to give them what they needed most – powerful assets. Upon activation, the users mind and soul would be returned to their body in the time at which they decided upon the dream they followed in later life. Though the weapon tried to send physical attributes back through time, temporal interference prevented the transference of all and so anyone sent back with it would have to train to achieve their full strength and abilities again. However, their knowledge alone was enough to make a great difference in the war effort and its effects were enormous, both positive and negative… In the end, this weapon alone was not enough to change the final course of the war and the kingdom still lost, the secret of its creation recorded in but two locations; one of them, the Rio Poneglyph.

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><p>Monkey D. Luffy was a man of great dreams and aspirations. His crew followed him without hesitation, believing in his ability to lead them through even the direst of situations. He had won their loyalty through arduous battle and mettle-testing threats and it was without compare. This loyalty and his will were the two factors that led to him achieving his dream of becoming Pirate King. His dream was realised as he claimed the One Piece, a treasure renowned around the world as being as legendary as the island upon which it was left; Raftel. There too, another of his crew realised their dream of discovering the true history of what had come to be known as 'The Void Century' by finding and reading the Rio Poneglyph. Learning from it a way that their captain might escape the fate rapidly closing in on them, she taught to Luffy everything he needed to know in order to build the fourth ancient weapon. Soon, the marines of the world closed in on their destination and the crew encouraged their captain to flee. Though he resisted, his first mate knocked him out cold and sent him out to see in a lone rowing boat as he and the others stayed behind to buy their captain time. It was a battle they could not win and all were lost at the hands of their enemies. But hope remained as they all died, believing in their captain's ability to keep on living. When he awoke with the realisation that his friends were almost certainly no more, the pain was almost unbearable and he fled from it and those that caused it – the marines.<p>

Soon though, he began to tire and knew that he had only one choice left to him if he wished to honour them. He began seeking the materials he would need to build the ancient weapon as his enemies closed the distance between them, growing closer day-by-day. However, day-by-day was not enough and he succeeded in building the device just as his enemies began their final approach. Seeing this, six men and women – who had once sworn to capture the man – turned on their allies to grant him the last moments of time he needed to activate it. Though all had once believed the man's path wrong, they had also been shown the darkness of their government through his actions and believed him to be the only light capable of dispelling it, without harming innocents the world over. These six stood bravely in the face of adversity, against their old comrades, defending that last hope and giving him the time he needed to complete the activation sequence. They were; Ex-Marine Vice Admiral Monkey D. Garp, Marine Admiral Smoke, Marine Commodore Tashigi, Marine Vice Admiral Coby, Marine Commodore Helmeppo and Ex-Marine Admiral Kuzan. As he disappeared with a flash of light and the resounding boom of a void being suddenly filled, the device crumbled into dust and the five stood down, ready to accept whatever punishment may be handed down to them. Thus, Monkey D. Luffy – King of the Pirates – disappeared from the world with one final thought:

'_Chronos, guide me!'_

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><p><strong>Hope you liked it. Please leave your reviews, so long as they aren't flames, and I will try to respond to your desires.<strong>

**Oh, yeah. By the way, this chapter is exceptionally short by my standards so don't worry about every chapter being this short. I'm expecting the first couple to be quite short before I really get going when I get to the canon area. It will be a slight mix of anime and manga but mainly manga since I don't like most of the filler arcs. I will be using the anime start though as I like the concept a bit more than Luffy landing on Alvida's island.**


	2. Chapter 1 - The Hall of Time

**Author's Note**

**Okay, here I am again. Sorry about the long delay but I've had a lot to deal with recently and have been typing this up gradually in the rare bits of time I get for such things. Time to answer a few questions and add a few details though...**

**I've had several requests for a list of harem members and, though I won't give that, I will give a few names and hints - look away now if you don't want spoilers. ;)**  
><strong>Obviously, Robin will be the primary romance but Nami will be there as well as a few royals and a couple of more out-there pairings like Conis.<strong>

**I've had a couple of comments about the length of the intro and standard chapter length so I thought I would say this; my standard chapters will probably be anywhere from 5000-10000 words on average. I can't give a more definitive range as it will depend on the flow of the story; I don't want to end a chapter halfway through something important just cause I feel its too long or anything. And after all, what's a story without a few good cliffhangers.**

**On another note, just as Luffy's love interests are numerous, his crew will also grow. That isn't to say all of his harem will join him or anything, some will and some won't. I will also be adding a number of males to the crew as well. Of course, a bigger crew also wouldn't be possible without a bigger ship - the Merry may be the same but you can expect some upgrades to the Sunny.**

**Finally, I do know that I'm taking quite some liberty in this chapter but I assure you that some things in this chapter that seem important will actually be relatively minor. It was just to fully explain the weapon and the abilities Luffy will have in his second life. I will talk more about the abilities in my end-chapter note if you have any worries, such as being overpowered.**

**Okay, now that that's out of the way, here's the speech styles:**  
>"Speech"<br>_'Thoughts'  
><em>'Quotes'

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><p><span><strong>Chapter 1<strong>

**The Hall of Time**

Disorientation. That was the first thing that Monkey D. Luffy felt after using Chronos, one of the four ancient weapons. The light that engulfed him as it activated was blinding, only accentuating his lack of balance. Opening his eyes, Luffy sought to regain some semblance of direction and was shocked by the sight before him; beneath his feet lay slabs of white marble and far above his head was a roof of the same substance. Between the two yet more marble was used for walls; but, contrasting it brilliantly, two series of black granite pillars provided extra support as they reached for the skies on either side of him. A great spiral wound its way up each individual pillar and Luffy could only wonder at how much work had been taken to carve each of the columns into such regal form.

Realising though, that he was seeing each individual facet of the structure – but not the structure as a whole – Luffy pooled everything he had seen into one image as he took another look. What he realised was this. _'This… is one seriously elaborate hallway.'_

Seeing no gains in remaining where he stood, Luffy began wandering down the hallway, revelling in the atmosphere of grandeur it produced. _'Hold on a second. Did that Chronos thing actually work? I thought Robin told me that it was supposed to send me back in time – not to some random, grandiose hallway. Shishishi… Grandiose is a pretty big word, Robin would be proud of me.'_ Luffy thought as he continued to amble down the hallway. But, at the thought of his archaeologist, the pain of loss crossed Luffy's heart and he stopped in place. They were gone. And, if the Chronos truly had failed, then he would never see them again.

Luffy had never been a religious man. To him, the end of your life was the end of everything. If you died then there was no chance of seeing anyone again. The thought that his friends had given that ultimate sacrifice, just so that he could use that failure of a machine tore him to pieces and salty tears threatened to fall from his eyes.

That is, until an all too familiar laugh echoed along the hallway. It was a laugh that he hadn't heard for several months but one that inspired hope and confidence in him, no matter the circumstances.

His tears forgotten, Luffy rushed down the remainder of the hallway, only to be awed as it opened into an even more extravagant chamber. It was more than twice as tall as what he now realised had been naught but an entry passage. So distant were its walls from each other that ten giants could sit between them, side-by-side. The pillars suddenly deviated from their path, hugging to the walls of the immense chamber. And, just beyond them, a few short steps led down to a slight depression in the centre of the room.

There, in that depression, was a rectangular table with five seats; one at the head of the table and two on either side thereof. Four of the seats were filled and he identified two of them in moments. The identities of the remaining duo eluded him but he cared not thanks to his overflowing joy at the sight of the first he recognised.

The back of his chair faced Luffy and a black cape was draped across it, his mop of red hair all that could be seen of him beyond it. The figure turned in his seat to look at the boy and a smirk was clear beneath his eyes, one of which was marred by three parallel scars. "Well, it's about time you joined us, Luffy! Time to party!"

Unfortunately, Luffy's mind took several seconds to process all the emotions that were running through his mind; awe, hope, joy, confusion, curiosity, excitement and courage, to name but a few. When his mind had finally caught up with his heart, there was only one word the Pirate King could produce. "Shanks?"

The man roared with laughter at Luffy's expression but grabbed his arm and tried to yank him over, apparently forgetting Luffy's abilities. However, to Luffy's great surprise, when the Yonkō saw his arm stretch to great lengths, he yelled out in shock. "Gaah! What happened to Luffy!?" Surprise crossed his features before realisation dawned. "Ah! I remember now, I was going to give him that Gomu Gomu no Mi. Dahahahaha!"

Luffy's confusion only continued to grow when he heard that statement, and his staring fared no better. "Huh?"

Silence fell as the group of four looked at him, as confused as the boy himself. But then, something clicked in the mind of one of his unrecognised companions. He was a man with scruffy, shoulder-length black hair. A curved black moustache sat above his fiercely grinning lips and he wore, most distinctively, a red captain's coat and 'pirate' hat. Beneath that, he wore a navy-blue shirt and pale trousers. A white cravat was wrapped tightly about his neck and green sash circled his waist. The only hint Luffy had to his identity was the Jolly Roger on his hat; it was a symbol he had seen only a few times before and he couldn't quite place where. But, he did know that it was significant, to both him and the world as a whole.

"This is your first time here, isn't it lad? We got so caught up in celebrating your arrival that we forgot it is just that." The man claimed, his baritone voice echoing around the room. "Well, let me introduce myself. I'm a previous owner of that hat of yours. Gol D. Roger's the name. It's nice to meet you. Grahahahaha! What's with the look on your face, lad? You look like you've seen a ghost!"

Luffy was left stuttering, lost for words for the first time in his life. Thankfully, Shanks chose that moment to help Luffy out of the deep end; or rather, just let him know he was in it. "Well, that's because you are one to him. You were dead before Luffy was even born. Luffy, I guess this is gonna' be difficult to explain but it should be easiest to start by introducing the other two members of our group."

"No need to introduce me, brat. We've already met." Rumbled the second man Luffy had recognised. He possessed an imposing figure, towering over all other members of the group while scars criss-crossed his bare chest. Loose, cream-coloured pants garbed his legs, topped by a deep-purple sash; a black cap bandanna covered the top of his head and a white captain's coat dangled from one side of his chair. What identified him most to Luffy was the very growth from which his alias came, a white, crescent-shaped moustache. "It's been a while, Straw Hat Luffy. You certainly look like you survived the war so I suppose my men did their job. It's just a shame Ace couldn't join you."

"Well, I guess that solves that problem then; though, I can't say I'm happy being called 'brat' when Luffy gets to be called by his name. I guess I only need to introduce the final member of our little party though. Luffy, this is Chronos."

With a level of perception that most would believe beyond him, Luffy interjected. "Wait, that's the name of-"

"The ancient weapon you used to get here?" Shanks interrupted. Without much to say on the subject, Luffy simply nodded his head in consensus. So, the world-renowned redhead carried on. "You see, those ancient weapons are named after the gods that were worshipped by the people who rose to power in the lead up to the 'Void Century'. The void century is the century in which our so-called 'World Government' mercilessly attacked and destroyed that peaceful nation."

"The weapons were devised during the war in a last ditch attempt to gain an advantage over their enemy." Roger picked up. "Unfortunately, the majority of the weapons were never used. There were various reasons for it but only one was ever used. They managed to create, and activate, the Chronos just before their annihilation and a single man was sent back to the turning point in his childhood. The point that determined the course he would follow for the rest of his life. He too arrived here before being sent on to his past by Chronos with a couple of his physical abilities intact. It took some experimentation to prove it but he consulted with the engineers and physicists designing the system and told them of his findings."

Roger then took over, still without a break in the flow of the story. "Gradually, the man grew and became the nation's most powerful warrior. The abilities and knowledge he had carried from the future, coupled with the physical strength he gained from extensive childhood training, were enough to earn him that title and he revelled in the praise and glory of it. But, he was selfish and when the time came that his superiors tried to send another man back, he betrayed them. Wishing to be the only man with such power and knowledge, he joined his enemies –informing them of his nation's plans and weaknesses. In a surprise attack, the nation was wiped out and the plan prevented."

"However," Shanks proclaimed "before they could be slaughtered, the priests of the nation cursed the traitor to a death so final that even Pluton would never meet with him or know his name. As such, when the man died, every man and woman forgot him and – though the consequences of his actions remained – his name was forgotten. Not even Chronos can remember, and he is a god, so those priests must have used some pretty heavy duty stuff."

"Getting back to the story…" Roger admonished. "The World Government took over and built a new civilisation, hiding every trace of the last. Unfortunately for them, they were unable to do anything to the Poneglphys that remained. Those stones couldn't be moved, damaged or even altered by anyone. Over time, the war was driven from the minds of men until I came along and started listening to the voices of the Poneglyphs. Hearing their words, I wanted to reach the truth of the story and traversed the world, listening to them and gathering fame and fortune as a pirate at the same time. That was the only way to remain free enough to seek the Poneglyphs so it wasn't like I'd have had much choice even if I didn't want to be a pirate.

I gradually travelled the world and read every last Poneglyph. From each, I learned its secrets and carried them to the end of the Grand Line; the island known as Raftel. I knew it was the only place that would be safe from the World Government's eyes and hoped that someday another would reach that point and spread the truth of the world. They would be akin to me if they did so and able either to translate the writings or hear the voice of all things. To translate or listen to the story of the past would be to rebel against the World Government and to be presented with a whole new host of possible paths. However, finally knowing the full story, I was satisfied but decided to go back to my past with the Chronos and change a few things that happened during my journey. But to do that, I had to leave everything behind… What did you think of it boy, the One Piece?"

At the mention of the great treasure, Luffy's eyes lit up and almost seemed to sparkle as he voiced a yell so typical of him. "It was sooo coooool!"

The old Pirate King grinned before his bellowing laughter began to echo around the hall. "Grahahaha! I'm glad you liked it brat. Anyway, I stored all of the treasure I had on the island and went back in time to change a few things; save some friends' lives, obstruct the World Government some more, tell my archaeologist that I loved her and so on."

Before the man could continue, Luffy interrupted. "Wait a sec… Ace's mother was your archaeologist?"

"Aye. Since I was such a buffoon most of the time, her intelligence made her seem incredible to me. When you combined that with her fighting skills, good looks and mature air it was impossible not to fall for her. You never felt that way for someone, brat?" The captain explained, some irritation in his tone.

"It's not that I've never felt that way, but that I felt the exact same way." Luffy defended. "My archaeologist, Robin, she was so smart that she seemed to know everything. She was always happy to explain things and got the cutest look on her face when she really got into an explanation. She always had my back in battle when I needed her and actually seemed to find it funny when I messed around, unlike the rest of my crew. Almost every time I messed around, she would smile and her face would just light up. I don't know if it was because she had such a hard life before she joined us but she seemed to enjoy every little thing and I was glad that I could make her smile like that. And, like you said, she always knew how to carry herself in a way that didn't look any different to anybody else but made her seem so much more knowing and experienced in life. I mean, sure she was, but she was still a bit of a child inside too so it was cool seeing that side of her…"

All of the other men at the table smirked slightly before Roger spoke up again. "Wow, sounds like you've got it bad, brat. You make sure you tell her all that when you see her again 'cause it sounds like you'll regret it forever if you don't."

Luffy's eyes were filled with hope as he asked his next question. "So I will see her again? The Chronos didn't fail?"

"No, it worked just fine and you'll have a chance to see them all again I should imagine." Whitebeard confirmed. "I suppose we'd better finish the explanation. Once we used the Chronos, we ended up in exactly the same place you did. This is 'The Hall of Chronos' or 'The Hall of Time'. It's the domain of this here godly friend of ours and acts as an intermediary stage for travelling to your past. He'll give you a little test and decide which of your physical attributes he'll send back with you. Then, when you go, a clone – I think that's the best term for it – of you is created and doesn't go back whilst you do go back. I'm not sure what the purpose is but at least it means we'll have one more person to party with. When you eventually either die or use the Chronos again, you will return here and your two selves will merge into one entity with both sets of memories but the superior body."

Roger spoke up again at this point with a warning. "However, the next time you come will be the last. Chronos has said that he won't be letting people through willy-nilly, so no third runs at life for us. Shanks here hasn't had the end of his second run yet and he didn't give you anything in his first run but saw how well you did as a pirate. Seeing a strong future ahead of you, he chose to give you that devil fruit of yours when he went back so that you could become even stronger and maybe even reach this place. Apparently you did, so he made the right choice."

"Hold on." Luffy interjected. "I ate the Gomu Gomu no Mi by accident when Shanks wasn't looking. I thought it was dessert and then he got really mad at me so there's no way he wanted me to have it."

"Grahahahaha! Luffy, this brat wouldn't be stupid enough to just leave something like that lying around somewhere, would you?"

For the first time in a while, Shanks actually said something – though, it wasn't much. "Well…"

Roger simply sighed before continuing again, clearly disappointed. "Right, I should have known… Anyway, to put it all simply, from here you get sent back in time to the pivotal moment in your childhood, where you settled on the course your life would take. Once there, you live your life again, preferably until you die so that you aren't wasteful with your time. You live that second life rectifying the mistakes you made in your first life and trying to make things right. Once that's done, you can join us in the partying! Oh, I suppose I should mention, if you do stay then we can all help train you to become as strong as possible in aspects of combat like Haki and swordplay but you will have to retrain your body on the other side to become physically capable of it again. Plus, when you come back, you get to bring you family with you!" It was then that a number of people stepped out from behind the pillars lining the room as if they had been waiting for this moment.

Luffy instantly recognised a number of them and began reeling off names. "Big-nose, Phoenix-guy, Jinbe, old-man Rayleigh, old-man Crocus…" He drifted off however when he spotted one person in particular. "Ace!" Luffy cried out in joy as he dive-bombed the young man with a hug and started crying as if there were no tomorrow.

"Hey there little bro, it's been a while hasn't it?"

"Ace!" Luffy bawled. "I'm so happy to see you again! Why did you have to go and die at Marineford!?"

"What!?" Roger roared and Ace turned guiltily to his blood-father, scratching his head. He was about to explain what had transpired but Luffy interrupted him.

"We can talk about that later, right, since I'm going to save you this time! There's no way I can't do that if I'm getting a second chance. Hey, maybe I can even save some of the others from the problems they had too! Oh wait… that would be difficult since the only one I would be able to save early is Nami and that means fighting Arlong when I'm nine. I'm not sure how well that would end and I don't want to be coming back here too soon…"

"You can judge that another time, Anchor." Luffy whirled around, slightly annoyed with the now grinning Shanks for using that old nickname. "If you want to worry about that, first you need to train and get back. We won't take it easy on you if you choose to train, Luffy, but you'll be a whole lot stronger for it."

Luffy grinned cockily and winked. "Please, I can take you old-timers on in my sleep." Everyone burst out laughing at Luffy's bold proclamation against the former captains and that somehow triggered another party as booze, food and gambling tools appeared from nowhere on the table.

As the party got into full swing, Luffy chatted to the many people he hadn't seen for a long time. Though, in the end only Marco remembered the most recent Luffy, Rayleigh, Crocus and Jinbe remember the 'original' Luffy and Buggy did't seem to know him at all. Since Shanks hadn't come for his second time yet his crew were not there and Luffy ended up spending most of his time simply chatting with the three captains and Ace. Apparently, the original Poneglyph upon which the information about Chronos is carved was actually near Fūsha Village. Shanks and Roger told him of a cave in which there was a temple dedicated to Chronos; in that temple lay several treasures of the gods and Shanks even used it as a storehouse when he was based on Dawn Island. The entrance was apparently heavily booby-trapped to prevent intrusion and that made a good enough defence in their opinion. Unfortunately, the two refused to tell him exactly where the entrance was after he proclaimed that he would just have to infiltrate it and take some of the treasure for himself. Shortly after that conversation ended, a young and beautiful woman approached them and was introduced as Portgas D. Rouge, Ace's mother and Roger's wife. Learning that this was the archaeologist that the great Gol D. Roger had fallen for left Luffy comparing her and Robin like a fool. His conclusion was not so foolish though, to him Robin was still much lovelier. Of course, Roger didn't take too kindly to his wife being inferior to another woman and even Ace was a little annoyed at Luffy's idiocy.

After some time, during a lull in the partying, Chronos finally spoke. It was with a deep, booming voice that seemed to resonate with power and Luffy couldn't help but feel slightly awed by the presence it created. "Well then, Luffy, I think it's about time I started thinking about what to do with you when you go back. Tell me, why is it that you seek to go back? Do you seek revenge, greater wealth or power, love…"

"To see my friends again, of course. I want to save them all this time as well; it would be nice if we could spend more time together. I want to save Ace too and maybe old man Whitebeard and Bon-chan and-"

"Alright. Alright, I get the picture." The god cut in, chuckling. "It seems that your immediate intent is only to save others, not like the other three who had at least some vengeance or war on their mind, so I am willing to send you back with all your abilities; though you don't seem to have many to take back. There's your devil fruit, poison resistance and ridiculous tooth strength that I can affect but height and breadth will depend on your body at the time, I can't change them."

"What about my scar?" Luffy asked rather suddenly.

"Hmm… What about it?" Chronos inquired curiously.

"Can I take the scar on my chest too? Ever since Ace died, it's been a reminder for me to keep working hard so that I don't lose anyone else and I might need it so I don't slack off. I might not need it but if I have it then I have nothing to worry about."

"Very well, you can have your scar. However, in relation to your poison resistance and tooth strength, I have a proposition. Because your intent is pure, I am willing to offer you two devil fruits in exchange for those two factors. As a 'D' carrier, your body is far more easily modified in its tolerance for various things – that is in fact the reason you poison resistance became so strong. But, what I'm trying to get at is that I can alter your body so that you could consume a single devil fruit of each type. You would retain your Gomu Gomu no Mi powers but also gain the powers of a single logia and a single zoan type devil fruit decided by lottery."

"What!?" The onlookers roared but Luffy nodded his head excitedly and Chronos continued unfazed. With a wave of his hand, a one armed bandit appeared in front of them, a single central roller with a question mark on it waiting to be activated.

"Well then, pull the lever and find out what you'll get. Logia first and Zoan second." Luffy reached out and pulled on the lever without a moment's hesitation and the crowd watched with slack jaws. Round and round the roller span until eventually it slowed to a stop. The image on it was that of an orange, red and yellow hued apple dotted with spiralling patterns of fire and lightning. "Well, it looks like you just got yourself a Keshō Keshō no Mi, Luffy. Congratulations, you'll be a plasma-man soon enough. Now, on to the next pull!"

Though Luffy didn't know what Plasma was, it sounded cool and everyone was gawking so the seemingly lucky roll encouraged him to follow Chronos' suggestion. He pulled the arm and wheel rolled… and rolled… and rolled… until it eventually came to a stop. It had settled on a picture of what looked like an auburn strawberry. Even Chronos was left gawking for a moment before he returned to his role as announcer. "Wow, Tyche must be smiling on you kid. She's my great-grandaughter that governs luck and that fruit is an Inu Inu no Mi, Model: Kyūbi, a mythical Zoan. Makes me glad I got rid of your other powers though, I was expecting it to just be a Nendo Nendo no Mi and a Kaeru Kaeru no Mi or something but those two are extremely powerful devil fruits. You're gonna' have fun kid, so make sure to eat them now and then you can start training soon. Oh, you needn't worry about aging while you're here either since time doesn't flow normally here and even if it did you would get younger when I sent you back again. Anyway, now that that's sorted… Back to the party!"

Before Luffy could even register the god having moved, two devil fruits were in his hands and Chronos was stood in the centre of the table, busting some moves and dancing like a lunatic. "What!?" Luffy bellowed. "So he's just as bad as you guys even though he's a god!?" Light-hearted laughter filled the hall as the group revelled in Luffy's dismay.

"What else has he got to do with himself? Come on, I know you like a good party too Luffy so join in." And join in he did. Though reluctant at first, because he wanted to train, he was soon performing the can-can with chopsticks linking his nostrils and mouth while everyone else was rolling on the floor laughing.

* * *

><p>Luffy wasn't sure if several minutes or several days had passed since they started partying but he did know one thing – he was exhausted. He didn't know how the others could keep on going as it took all the remaining energy he had not to fall asleep.<p>

It was as he struggled to stay awake that he noticed another person had joined him. They were a woman, Rouge to be precise. "You must be quite something." She told him. "To last so long before you have adjusted to the way this world works is quite a feat."

"What do you mean?" Luffy queried. "I can't have lasted more than half an hour."

"Ah, yes, that does tend to happen." Ace's mother answered. "You see, because this hall is Chronos' domain and we are in such close proximity to him as well, the flow of time is difficult to truly grasp. It speeds up and slows down, sometimes even stopping completely, but we do not. In truth, you were probably dancing for almost an entire day but even I cannot tell more than that."

"Seriously!? A whole day already!?" Luffy exclaimed worriedly. "I better stop partying and get to training or I'll never be strong enough."

"Now, now; calm down a bit Luffy. You won't be sent back until Chronos chooses and even then you will have several years to train yourself." The boy stopped rising from his seat as she told him that and realised that it was indeed true. "I did want to talk to you for a bit though. I was listening to your conversation earlier, when you talked about your archaeologist, and just wanted to clear a few things up. Do you love her?"

"Yes." Luffy's answer was short but it got straight to the point without a moment's hesitation. His stern expression hinted at annoyance for perceived doubt in his earlier claims but Rouge was not at all deterred.

She smiled warmly before she started speaking again. "Please, don't take it the wrong way. I just wanted to see how you responded; some men claim to be deeply in love when it is honestly a simple crush. I doubted that was the case with you but wanted to be sure; your answer was more than enough to see to that. But, I wonder, do you know what two people do when they are in love? What the two of you will do if she accepts your feelings?"

"Umm… Hug and kiss and stuff, right?" It was more of a question than an answer. "I suppose there is that marriage thing that Hancock always went on about but that sounds more like it would tie us down…"

The young woman couldn't suppress a giggle at the innocence that this Pirate King portrayed. "That is far from everything, Luffy. You are right about the first two; they, along with holding hands, are the most common signs of affection that can be made in public. However, marriage is not necessarily something that holds you down, it is dependent on the wishes of both parties. If the husband, you, and the wife, your archaeologist-"

"Robin." Luffy interrupted, earning another smile from Roger's wife despite being rude.

"Robin… If you two both want to travel the world together, enjoying a pirate's life, then the marriage will be a confirmation of your love for each other. A confirmation of the fact that you wish to stay together forever and would do anything for your partner, even give your life."

Luffy, who had simply been nodding along, spoke again as she came to a stop. "Oh, well I'd gladly do all of that for Robin so if she likes the idea of being a pirate forever then we should get married, assuming she would like it."

"Oh, she would like it Luffy, assuming she does love you." The blonde assured him. "To a woman, and many men, a romantic proposal of marriage is one of the things that can make them happiest in life as it shows your dedication to them. It is something that some people throw around more easily than they should but to most it is something you cannot go back on and, hence, something very precious."

"Wow, so it's really meaningful then?"

"Yes, Luffy. But, you mentioned another woman talking to you about marriage, did she ask you to marry her?"

The young captain dug his finger into his ear briefly as he thought about how to answer. "Yeah, but I said no because I didn't really know what it was. Plus, she kept saying it was about love and I didn't love her as much as I did Robin."

"I see, but you did love her?"

"Of course, I loved all my friends. Though, there was something special about some of the girls. But, Robin was just incredible and I was feeling everything that Shanks, Makino and Gramps told me about love really strongly for her, so I figured that I loved her."

"Well, perhaps you loved the others too, just to a lesser extent." Rouge suggested.

"What? But I thought you could only love one person? That's why Sanji was so weird, because he told almost every girl we met that he loved them." Luffy told Rouge.

"Well, it sounds to me like he was just a terrible flirt without a true sense of romance but I've never met the boy so I can't really say." She observed. "However, it is possible for an extremely limited group of people with incredibly large hearts to truly love more than one person. If you love them even slightly and they do love you then it may be best to go for 'the harem route' as some people call it. I personally dislike the term as it implies that love is nothing more than some sort of path that is set out before you. Anyway, getting back to the point, a harem is a group of women that all love, and are loved by, a single man. You would only be able to legally marry one of them under the World Government's law but I suppose it would probably be difficult to find someone willing to marry two pirates anyway. Though, I suppose if you could find a priest of the ancient gods, or even visit one of their planes of existence, they could marry you to multiple women – they were quite encouraging of polygamy after all."

"Umm… Wouldn't that be difficult?" Luffy asked, given that such priests were likely to have disappeared centuries ago in the Void Century and a god's plane of existence should presumably be difficult to access.

"Well, yes, but it is the only way that would work out for you. Anyway, if Robin is willing to let you love those other women, having a harem would probably be the most suitable way to conduct your romantic life. Robin would take the lead but others would be able to engage in romantic activities with you as well. That way, you don't hurt them by denying them something they want more than anything else."

Luffy thought seriously for a moment before offering an answer. "Okay, I think I get what you were saying."

"Good, I'll tutor you more in this area more over the time that you are here but there is something else we need to dicuss first. How much do you know about how babies are made?"

"Hmm… Well Gramps always talked about a stork but Ace and Shanks kept mentioning birds and bees so I don't really know."

Rouge let out a melodious chuckle before continuing. "I'm afraid it is neither of those things Luffy…"

* * *

><p><strong><strong>Nendo Nendo no Mi is clay-clay fruit and Kaeru Kaeru no Mi is a frog-frog fruit.<strong>**

**And that's a wrap. Feel free to leave your reviews, I welcome any feedback - constructive criticism in particular. Though, please read the following notes if you intend to review as it may address some concerns.**

**I will try to use the Japanese names for devil fruits and named attacks. Mirage Tempo will be in English but Gomu Gomu no Pistol in Japanese for example. I can't promise that I will always meet this expectation but they are almost always better than the English names and I hope to use Japanese for even original attacks.**

**Those worried about abilities, here is a summary of what Luffy will have when he starts out on his journey again:  
>Haki, Gomu Gomu no Mi, Keshō Keshō no Mi, Inu Inu no Mi, Basic Weapon Skills and Rokushiki.<strong>

**However, there will be limits. His Haki will be fully developed and his Gomu Gomu no Mi will be at its current level but his weapon skills will not be anywhere near a specialist like Zoro or Usopp, just enough to wield it in an efficient manner or hit what he's aiming at with the cannon. The rokushiki will be rarely used as Luffy has alternate methods of solving the same problems or simply doesn't appreciate the viciousness of an attack like the shigan. As for devil fruits, their use will be varied. Luffy will primarily try to keep them quiet until the big stuff starts happening so that he can have some trump cards, not to mention that hurling plasma around on a ship will likely set it alight or burn a hole through anyone that gets in the way and learning to control space and time is something that is no mean feat. Simply put, he won't just be hurling his new abilities around left, right and centre; he will use them cautiously.**

**I've got to admit, I was severely tempted to continue this chapter and write my first lemon with Rouge but it just didn't seem like Luffy's style and felt rather awkward so I didn't bother trying it. She may be hot but that is a different story for a different day, and maybe a different author.**

**Finally, should anyone feel like submitting artwork that I can use as a cover picture, it would be most welcome. There will hopefully be a few iconic features of the story that can be used to represent it. So, if you feel in the mood, draw it up and send me a link.**


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